Don't Look Back, Face Reality
by MidnightEuphoria
Summary: Ryoma was used and betrayed by his friends. Hurt, Ryoma leaves and moves back to America. After 5 long years, he returns to Japan, changed in more ways than one. Why has he forgotten every one? Is it all an act? What made him change? -No pairings yet. May hint some Ryoma/Sanada, Ryoma/Seiichi, Ryoma/Keigo, and some others that involve Ryoma-
1. Chapter One: The Shocking Truth

**Chapter One: The Shocking Truth**

He couldn't remember them no matter how hard he tried. His 'friends', whom he had shared laughs with, who supported him, who he had held dear. After the fall that gave him amnesia, he couldn't remember them. He only vaguely remembered his family. His tennis moves were a different story. The body remembers what the mind has forgotten.

After winning the Nationals for his so-called 'friends', no matter if he remembered them or not, it hurt. It still hurt, though he didn't understand why. Their betrayal, hurt more than it should have. He wanted to leave, he _needed_ to get away from it all.

* * *

After the Nationals, Ryoma was greeted by the cheerful captain of Rikkaidai's Tennis Club, followed by the stoic vice captain and a pouting black haired regular.

"Ah! Ryoma, that was a fun match," Yukimura announced to the younger boy. Ryoma stared at him with a curious, confused look. As if realizing an important detail, his eyes widened hin shock.

"Oh, you were the man I played today. You are an amazing tennis player! May I ask what your name is, sir?" Ryoma asked. Yukimura, as well as Sanada and Kirihara stared at the boy, their eyes widened and mouth barely gaping. Did he really forget?

"You d-don't remember him?" Kirihara asked hesitantly.

Ryoma gave a slight, hesitant nod, as if wondering if it were the right answer.

Sanada leaned in between Yukimura and Kirihara and whispered into their ears.

"Remember how he lost his memories earlier today? I think it affected him more than we thought. He doesn't seem to remember us." Sanada whispered. Yukimura nodded and Kirihara pouted.

"He seems politer... I like his snarky attitude more..."Kirihara pouted childishly.

Yukimura then turned to a confused Ryoma and spoke.

"My name is Yukimura Seiichi. It's a pleasure to meet you." he re-introduced himself. "The man with the stoic face is Sanada Genichirou, and the black haired man standing next to him is Kirihara Akaya."

Ryoma smiled gently before speaking. "Ryoma Echizen, it's a pleasure meeting all of you. You can all call me Ryoma."

The three before the younger boy blushed slightly. Kirihara, snapping out of his blush fist, remembered a vital detail.

"Ah! I left my bag back in the lockers!" he screamed. He groaned in annoyance.

"I left my bag back in the locker rooms as well. Shall we go get them together?" Ryoma questioned the groaning regular.

Kirihara grinned. "What are we waiting for? Let's go before they lock up!" He grabbed Ryoma's hand and ran to the lockers at full speed. Ryoma giggled, something he'd probably never do before.

When both boys were out of sight, Yukimura and Sanada sighed.

"That boy is much more polite now. And he smiles more." Sanada noted.

Yukimura smirked. "And this is the second time I've ever seen him smile," he added.

-[+]-

As Ryoma and Kirihara finally slowed down a bit, they made their way into the stadium.

Kirihara yawned and stretched his arms out. "I can't believe you won against our buchou. We should have a match later and-" before he could continue, Ryoma put a hand over his mouth.

Ryoma put a finger to his mouth. "Shh, I think I hear someone talking about me."

Kirihara finally quieted down and listened as well. Both boys hid behind a wall and eavesdropped on a certain conversation.

"That brat actually won!" Eiji shouted as he hugged Oishi's arm. Oishi smirked.

"Yeah, I can't believe that brat atually won against the Child of God." he stated.

Tezuka nodded and smirked. "We can finally kick him off the team."

Kirihara, hiding behind the wall with Ryoma, clenched his fists and bit down on his lip to stop himself from yelling. He glanced at the younger boy next to him, expecting him (Ryoma) to be shocked. Much to his suprise, Ryoma was just staring off into the night sky with a blank expression, listening to every word being said.

"Let's gently tell him off so no one get's suspicious," Inui suggested. Everyone nodded.

Fuji smirked. "Let's tell him to-" Before he could finish, he heard slight gasps from everyone and turned to where they were looking. His eyes widened at the sight.

Ryoma and Kirihara couldn't take it anymore and stepped out of the shadows. Kirihara was beyond angry, his eyes were glaring at everyone left in the stadium. Ryoma, on the other hand, wore an unreadable expression. Though, if you looked into his eyes, you could see the sadness and hurt they held.

"I-Is that true? You were only using me to win?" Ryoma barely choked out. Tears were forming in his eyes, though, they were only seen by Kirihara.

"Of course!" Tezuka snorted. "Why would anyone be friends with a bratty person like you?"

"We were going to kick you off anyways," Fuji added, smirking.

Kirihara clenched his fists until his knuckles were white. "Shut up jerks!"

Ryoma began shivering a bit. "A-alright then. If it isn't a b-bother, I would like to resign now," he asked. Tezuka stared at him shell shocked.

Ryoma began removing his blue Seigaku jersey and neatly folded it. He lay it on the ground in front of him and took a step back, averting his gaze from the rest of his so called 'friends' and stared at the ground to his right. Kirihara growled, making everyone wince. He (Kirihara) hated seeing Ryoma take this shit and not do anything about it.

Ryoma took a step near the entrance before answering in a shaky voice.

"I-I had fun while it lasted, even if it was f-f-fake," he stuttered. What broke everyone's heart was what came next.

Ryoma Echizen, the snarky freshman regular who refused to lose, was crying. He stood there with a smile of his face, the same smile he wore when he won the Nationals for his 'friends'. He was smiling, yet, endless tears spilt from his eyes. He made absolutely no attempt to wipe them away.

Turning away, Ryoma ran away and never looked back once. A moment later, it began raining. Kirihara, who was still at the stadium, glared at the regulars.

"Just know that all of you broke Ryoma's heart. You hurt him more than you know it, you bastards," he growled before running into the rain after the younger hurt boy.

The regulars stared at each other, most with smiles, some with guilty looks. Though, most of the guilty expressions soon disappeared when Tezuka mentioned an after party.

-[+]-

"Ryoma, wait up!" Kirihara cried through the rain. He knew that he (Ryoma) had been hurt more than ever and he needed support.

Ryoma was running full speed through the rain until he crashed into Yukimura and Sanada, who were uner their umbrellas.

"Woah, Ryoma-kun, are you alright?" Yukimura asked, worried. Ryoma _never_ crashed into anyone.

Said boy lifted his head up to look at the person speaking to him. He was still crying and his face displayed a hurt expression like no other.

"Are you okay, Ryoma-kun?" Sanada questioned.

Kirihara, finally catching up, panted heavily as he came to a stop.

"Akaya, what happened to Ryoma-kun? Why is he crying?" Yukimura asked, holding Ryoma in his arms.

"Those Seigaku bastards. They were only using him. They were planning on kicking him out of the tennis club after they won." As Kirihara remembered, he growled.

Both Sanada and Yukimura looked at Ryoma, shocked. Were he regulars at Seigaku that heartless? Before they could ask anymore, Ryoma escaped Yukimura's hug and ran away, leaving three shocked regulars.

They all watched as Ryoma disappeared from sight.

-[+]-

As Ryoma ran through the rain, he finally cleared his mind. He dashed all the way home, and when he reached his destination, he gently knocked on the door. Nanjirou opened the door, answering, "Ryoma? Why are you at home? Isn't there a party? And where are your friends?"

Ryoma stared at his dad and broke down. He fell to his knees and began wailing, much to his dad's suprise. The last time Ryoma cried this hard, was.. actually, Ryoma had never cried this hard.

"Come inside Ryoma. You can tell me everything inside." Nanjirou stated; his words soothed the poor boy.

Ryoma nodded, he some what remembered his father. But only barely.

-[+]-

After a long shower, Ryoma walked hesitantly down the stairs and sat on the couch next to his father.

"So what happened?" Nanjirou asked as he petted his son's wet hair.

After a moment of silence, Ryoma spoke. "My friends. Or I think they were. I don't know. I don't remember."

"I overheard them when they said they were only using me to win. They never were my friends. They just used me, and planned to kick me out after I won." he continued. Nanjirou was just seething with anger now.

"Those heartless bastards! I'm going to Ryuuzaki and-" he stopped when he saw Ryoma shaking his head.

"It's fine. I don't need them, and they most certainly do not need me. I want to forget, I want to push it aside." he stated cheerfully, though, tears still fell from his eyes.

Nanjirou was heartbroken. Seeing his son in a broken state made him furious. Yet, he couldn't do anything about it, courtesy of Ryoma.

"I want..." Ryoma began. "I want to get away. Get away from Seigaku. Away from Japan. Away from everything. I want to forget."

Nanjirou wiped away Ryoma's tears with a finger and smiled. "Sure thing. Tomorrow, we'll move back to America, alright?"

Ryoma nodded, with a smile etched across his face. He made his way up the stairs and into his room.

He walked into his room and stared into a certain picture frmae. It was a picture of the regulars and himself, smiling and laughing. He couldn't believe everything was fake. He couldn't remember most of the year, but he did know that he enjoyed the time he spent with them. Even if it was only for a short period of time and it was indeed fake, he still shared laughs with everyone.

Before letting sleep overtake him, he slowly brought a hand to the lone picture frame on his desk. Gently, he used his hand to set the picture frame down so that the picture was facing downwards and the stand was facing upwards.

"I want to forget. I need to move on," he said to himself before letting sleep overtake him. That night, he shed silent tears that were neither seen nor heard by anyone.

* * *

**AN: LOL. This might be really crappy and all, but please don't flame me. I'm probably a horrible writer, so if you have any ****_KIND_**** sugestions, put them in your reviews. Forgive me if I make any mistakes with spelling, names, etc.**


	2. Chapter Two: Unexpected Arrival

**Chapter Two: Unexpected Arrival**

After Ryoma had left for America, his 'friends' _had_ to come up with an excuse for his unexpected leave. Of course, _"We only used him, and we kicked him off the team after we won,"_ didn't sound so helpful. They made an excuse, saying Ryoma had stolen their moves and used them, then quit the team and returned to America.

Shockingly, everyone believed them. Everyone, except Yukimura, Sanada, Akaya, Keigo and Akutsu. They believed in Ryoma and never once thought he was a traitor.

Five years is a long time for someone to think things over. Ryoma had decided to become a model as well as a tennis player. That, in turn, made Ryoma even more famous than he already was, courtesy of his tennis skills. He traveled around th world and was known world-wide. Everyone knew him by the time he had won four consecutive Grand Slam titles in his fourth year in America.

Back in Japan, everyone had began attending college. Their large grudge against Ryoma had never changed, though. Tezuka had made it so no one could doubt them and their lies.

In Ryoma's fifth year in America, he finally made a decision. _"I'm returning to Japan, alone."_

* * *

Sasuke, Sanada's nephew, had been at the park with his uncle, practicing his tennis skills. He hit a ball against a wall, back and forth.

"Oi, Sasuke. I'm getting a drink. Do you have anything paticular in mind?" Sanada asked as Sasuke turned around, some of his sweat dripping off his forehead.

"Ah, can you get me some Ponta? Any flavor." he asked before hitting the ball again, putting hi attention on the ball.

Sanada turned around and began walking to the nearest vending machine.

_"He's just like Ryoma"_ he thought as he nodded to no one in particular.

Sasuke his the ball back and forth between the wall. His uncle had the mentality of a sixty year old. He loved taking long walks, so it might take a while for his Ponta to arrive.

He hit the ball with full force over and over again until his wrist began getting sore.

"Itai!" he cries, massaging his wrist with his other hand.

"If you bend you knees and arms more and hit with a little less force, you'll get better aim and it won't hurt as much," a voice said. Sasuke swirled around, his eyes as wide as saucers and his mouth gaping. His eyes ran up and down the man as he studied his features.

There stood a man, about 176 cm in height, wearing a plain, white, long sleeved blouse. His sleeves were rolled up to a little below his elbows and had the first two buttons of his blouse were unbuttoned. Over that, he wore a black vest, accompanied by blood red tie, to which was loosely tied. Looking closer, he wore black low-rising skinny jeans with a few pre-made rips around the knee and thigh area. A red semi-studded belt held up his pants, hanging loosley at his hips. Black and red converses adorned his feet. His waist long black, tinted green hair was neatly pulled into a high ponytail, leaving a few strands of hair and his bangs flow freely, letting them frame his face. His eyes were a golden, almost honey color and his eyes were sharp, yet soft and cat-like.

On his left ear was a simple black earring at the bottom and a silver ear cuff with a cross design. His right ear was the same, except the ear cuff had a small silver chain attached to it. He wore sunglasses that were slightly tinted, allowing anyone to see a bit of his eyes through the glasses. In his hair was a small hair clip that resembled a Sakura flower branch.

Sasuke stood there in awe, staring at the man's extremely pretty features before snapping out of his trance, realizing who the mystery man was.

"Echizen Ryoma-sama?!" the small boy screamed, only to have said man's hand around his mouth, quieting the suprised boy.

"Shh." Ryoma gestured by puting a giner to his lips. "_They're _going to find me again."

"Mph!" the boy cried out, though, his scream was muffled. After finally removing Ryoma's hand from his mouth, the boy finally spoke.

"Who are "they"?" the small boy asked. Ryoma grimaced. Ryoma frowned a bit before cheerfully smiling.

"'They' are the people chasing me. AKA my fan girls..." he trailed off.

If you stayed quiet, you could heard voices in the distance:

_-"Where is Ryoma-sama?!"_

_"I know you're out there!"_

_"I just want your autograph!"-_

Ryoma sighed, he hated girls like this the most. They never do learn.

Ryoma felt a slight tug on his sleeve and turned to the boy he was currently holding.

"A-ano, you're Echizen Ryoma-sama, right?" Sasuke asked, shaking a bit at the thought of his idol being next to him.

Ryoma smiled and gave a slight nod before speaking, "Ryoma-sama? Just call me Ryoma!" He comically stuck his tongue out of his outh and smiled, giving the boy a thumbs up as he winked.

Sasuke's mood brightened considerably, a sparkle could be seen in his eyes.

The older chuckled. "You know me? I didn't think I was that popular!" he joked.

"Your famous through out the world! Your the youngest person to ever win U.S. Open and the youngest to win three consecutive Grand Slam titles! How could I have not heard about you? I'm your biggest fan!" the younger said. Ryoma sweat dropped; when he thought about it, it didn't seem like much - when Sasuke talked about it, it seemed like a great accomplishment (Which it was).

"You know a lot about me." he laughed. " If your my biggest fan, may I have the honor of knowing you name?"

Sasuke immediatly grabbed the older's hands with his own and shook them at a tremendous speed.

"My name is Sanada Sasuke! It's a pleasure meeting you, Ryoma-sama!"

Ryoma sighed. "You're not going to stop call me Ryoma-sama, are you?"

Before the kid could answer, Ryoma grabbed the boy and ran as fast as he could, carrying Sasuke princess style in his arms.

"W-w-what's wrong?!" Sasuke frantically asked, hugging his idol's arm as if his life depepnded on it.

"The girls, they're b-back!" he cried, using his thumb to point behing him. Sasuke looked to where the other's thumb was pointing, but soon regretted it. There was a wild herd of fan girl, looking blood thirsty and vicious, who had heart shaped eyes (LOL. Possessed by hearts!)

Both came to a stop when Ryoma had spotted the park's public restroom. He opened the door and immedietly locked it behind him. He leaned on the door and sighed. He could still hear the girls banging on the door.

"Ano, Ryoma-sama, what now?" Sasuke asked. He had just been trapped with his idol, in a public restroom, with fan girls attacking them... Not the best situation to be in at the moment. He began panicking; he'd probably die the moment the fan girls broke through the wooden two-inch-think door.

Ryoma, on the other hand, was completely calm. Having delt this numerous times in the past, he already knew the procedure. His eyes darted around the restroom, finding a small window above the toilet.

Ryoma grinned, and being Sasuke, he noticed that quickly.

_"No... Is he really going to...?"_ Sasuke thought in fear.

"Sasuke-kun, we're going to have to climb through this window, unless you want to die here," Ryoma said with a serious face and tone. Sasuke face palmed. Of course, Ryoma would do this.

Kicking the toilet seat down with a foot, Ryoma climbed up and picked up Sasuke by the waist. "Ready?" he asked.

Sasuke gave a small, hesitant nod. Ryoma pushed him through the window, and after a moment of struggling and groaning, the younger boy finally made it through.

Next came Ryoma. He was tall enough so he thrusted himself through the small window. In a matter of seconds, he made it through with no friction, no trouble and no help.

Sasuke stared at Ryoma in awe, again. _"How'd he do that so easily?!"_ he though. His eyes sparkled. _"I wanna be like him!"_

Ryoma stared at the younger boy and giggled. "I do this all the time. I've practiced this procedure many, many, many times in the past."

The younger tennis player looked at his idol in shock. "How'd you know wat I was thinking?" he asked warily.

"Your so young, and your expression says it all." Ryoma giggled. (He giggled a lot now...)

Sasuke pouted and puffed out his cheeks. He muttered something, but it went unheard.

"Ah, I forgot to ask you before, but do you know a man named Sanada Genichirou?" Ryom questioned as he patted the boy's head.

Sasuke grinned, "Yes, In fact, he's my-"

"You called?" a voice interrupted from behind Ryoma. Ryoma comically spun around and greeted Sanada with a great smile.

"Gen-chan!" Ryoma cried, hugging said man around the neck. Sanada wore a shocked expression, to which Sasuke secretly snickered about.

"R-Ryoma-kun?" Sanada asked, as if he were testing if this was a dream or not.

Ryoma nodded, to which Sanada smiled.

"It's been almost five years, hasn't it," the stoic older man noted. "I'm glad to see you fine."

Ryoma nodded and let go of Sanada. "Yup! Good to see you too, Gen-chan. Where are Sei-tan and Aka-chin?"

Sanada smiled. "I believe they should be finishing their college classes right about now."

Sasuke stared at his uncle and his idol. They knew each other?

Sanada noticed his nephew's stares. "Ryoma-kun, this is my nephew, Sasuke."

"Yeah, I know that. Sasuke-kun and I just ran away from some fan girls chasing me!" He winked at Sasuke, who blushed a bit.

"How do you know each other?" Sasuke bluntly asked. Both Ryoma and Sanada chuckled.

"Ah..." Ryoma began. "We know each other from school. We used to comepete, since we were from different schools, and as such, tennis teams."

Sanada gave a slight grunt before nodding. Suddenly, Ryoma's phone began ringing, much to his annoyance. He looked at the caller, and after finding out who it was, he groaned. A vein popped out from his temple and his eyes visibly darkened.

Flipping open his phone, he answered with a, **"What now?"** He spoke in English, as well as a very angry and annoyed tone.

**"Ryoma! Why the hell didn't you tell me you were returning to Japan?!"** said an angry voice.

Ryoma was now holding his phone away from his ear, as well as pushing the speaker button.

**"I wanted to go alone?"** he answered and questioned, wondering if that was the right answer.

**"Damn it, Ryoma! I'm coming to Japan now, and you better prepare yourself for the worst! Scratch that, prepare yourself for pure hell!"** as soon as the caller finished, Ryoma hung up, not wanting to hear anymore.

"How was that?" Sanada asked, a puzzled look appearing on his face.

Ryoma yawned before answering. "Oh, that was my friend, Kevin. He's also my manager, since I'm a model and all."

Sasuke tugged on the older's sleeve, grabbing his attention. "Why was he so loud?"

Ryoma grinned evilly, his eyes darkening. "I neglect work."

"Why do you - okay, nevermind." Sanada stopped himself mid-way. He didn't want to know why.

"Ah, I have an appointment now. I'm sorry, but I have to go now." Ryoma bowed, earning a nod from Sanada and an "Okay!" from Sasuke.

"Oh yeah, Sasuke-kun." This grabbed the boy's attention.

"Can I call you Sasu-chi?" Sasuke's eye's sparkled before he gave a vicious nod. Ryoma chuckled. Takning a few steps back, he said, "Bye!"

But before he began running, he turned and winked at "Sasu-chi". He comically brought his right hand to his forehead and lightly soluted.

"Sasu-chi! You can call me Onii-chan if you want~!" Ryoma then turned around and giggled to himself after seeing "Gen-chan's" nephew's dumb struck face.

"Bye Ryoma-onii-chan!" Sasuke waved. The moment Ryoma was out of sight, Sanada sighed.

"Sasuke, if you thinkRyoma's weird..." he began, "you have every right to."


End file.
